How To Save $1,000 In A Month: A 30-Day Money Challenge

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Other popular apps are Mint and YNAB (which costs $5 a month but has some really powerful tools).

Day # 8 – Go Cash Only For Certain Categories

What’s the one budgeting category where you overspend?

Is it grocery shopping? Dining out? Transportation?

Take a look in the personal finance app you downloaded yesterday to see.

Now, for the rest of the month, set a reasonable budget for that category.

Now, commit to only spending cash in that category this month. Even better, go to an ATM today to withdraw that cash and put it in an envelope. Then, all expenses in this category must come from that envelope.

This card has a 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on balance transfers, with a 5% balance transfer fee.

Say you’re paying 15% interest on $5,000 of credit card debt or roughly $750 a year. You can then transfer the balance to the Chase Freedom Unlimited card, paying $250 in balance transfer fees. You’ll save $500 this year in interest.

Then, it’s your job to pay off the entire balance in 15 months!

You’ll then earn 3% cash back on all purchases during the first year on up to $20,000 spent. After the first year, you’ll then earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

Day # 15 – Read A Book (from the library) About Happiness

Day # 15 is one of my favorite hacks to saving…

…and that is to learn about happiness.

The natural impact of learning about happiness is you’ll want more of what’s important (which you’ll find cost much less then deriving temporary happiness from things).

Day # 20 – Visit Your Library

Most local libraries have much more than books these days. This includes video games, board games, DVDs, TV series, and more.

One of my browser extensions for Google Chrome is the Library Extension. This allows you to view a book on Amazon and see if it’s available at your local library. It also has a Kindle option which allows you to see which books are available on Kindle.

Day # 21 & 22- Increase Your Deductible & Check Your Limits

Today you’re going to kill two birds with one stone.

Chances are you’re paying for insurance you don’t need.

Step # 1 is look at your deductible on your home and auto insurance.

Now, if you suffered a loss, how would the deductible you’re paying impact your financial life? Could you cover your part of that loss?

If so, you’ll benefit from increasing your deductible.

My rule of thumb is to have a deductible large enough that it hurts to write the check but it won’t cause you financial distress.

Next, look at your limits. Are you paying for insurance you don’t need?

Two common coverages that people overpay for:

Collision insurance on older cards

Personal property insurance

As for the collision insurance, say your car is worth $4,000 and your premiums are $800 a year for collision. In other words, you’re paying 20% of your car’s value to cover yourself in a case of a total loss.

That’s a lot of coverage and money for a small amount of insurance. Especially, if you can afford to replace a $4,000 car.

Next is personal property insurance. For homeowners, insurance companies will usually give you a default amount of 50% of your home limit for personal property.

For example, if your home is insured for $400,000 your contents are insured for $200,000.

Most often, homeowners don’t pause and reflect about how much stuff they actually own.

But today — you will.

Take a look at your limits and see if there is potential to save.

If there is, call your insurer to ask what you can save by lowering your limits.

Day # 23 – Adjust your Thermostat

The rule of thumb is you’ll save about 3% per month for every one degree you adjust your thermostat.

If you pay $1,000 a year to heat your home — this will save you $900 this year.

Day # 24 – Maximize Your Cash Back

To maximize the amount of cash back you receive from your credit cards, it’s important to know what card to use when.

If a certain card earns you 5% at a certain store (such as the Chase Freedom) you want to know to use that card.

It’s estimated that credit card users miss out on $200 in rewards each year. So, today your goal is to evaluate which cards to use when. The quickest way to do this is to search for the current cards you have in Google. Then, go to the actual credit card issuers page to view the benefits.

Pro Tip: By far the best way to redeem points is through travel. Interested to learn how? Enter your email below to get the free 5-day course: The Beginner’s Guide To Free Travel Through Credit Card Rewards:

Day # 25 – Max Out Your 401(k) Up To Your Employer Match

If you’re taking action — you should be seeing results.

If your high interest debt is all paid off — that means you may want to start investing.

The best place to start is your 401(k).

A report by the independent investment advisory firm Financial Engines found 1 in 4 employees are not taking full advantage of their employer match. By not maximizing their match, employees are leaving an estimated $24 billion on the table.

Don’t leave money on the table. Contribute at least up to your employer match in your 401(k).

Day # 26 – Rollover Your Old 401(k)s

It’s not uncommon to have a few old 401(k)s lying around. By rolling over your 401(k), you can reduce your fees and have available a wider range of investments.

The ICI reports that the average person pays 1.29% in fees to invest in their 401(k).

For smaller businesses, the news is even worse. Plans with less than $2 million in assets averaged 2.22% in fees.

That’s why it’s important to rollover 401(k)s to a low-cost provider. .

About The Author

R.J. Weiss is the founder and editor of The Ways To Wealth, a Certified Financial Planner™, husband and father of three. He's spent the last 10+ years writing about personal finance and has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, MSN Money, and other publications.

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